Breaking Free
by DJ Vivian
Summary: A mysterious redheaded young woman and a sandy-brown haired boy are found next to the Black Lake but no one knows who they are. The redheaded young woman can't talk or walk and holds a mysterious secretive past. Was she sent by Death Eaters or Umbridge? Who is the new blonde girl with ice powers...a possible Malfoy? Draco has a secret of his own.
1. Curious Discoveries

**Hey Everyone!**

 **I have been re-inspired by one of my best friends, Jaime Fraser to work on this story which, I originally started a while back. This is a Christmas gift for her!**

 **I decided to do a Harry Potter/Disney crossover. I was inspired by the thought of why isn't there any students with a legit disability. One that magic can not fix despite arguments of how it could. One could say that Mad-Eye Moody and Remus Lupin had disabilities because of what happened to Mad-Eye as an Auror and Remus being a werewolf. But how truly different is the Wizarding World from the world we live in today. I know that it isn't a big part of the story but it has been a question of mine for sometime. I think it would be amazing to see students in wheelchairs at Hogwarts. How would other students see them, society? How would they be able to make classes work? Realistically, Ariel wouldn't automatically know how to walk once in the human world. How would she deal with it and how would Hogwarts be able to handle a student who has a handicap? I want to thank my Slytherin sister and fellow Ariel lover, Jaime Frasier for the inspiration! I do hope you enjoy this version of the story. Thank you.**

 **Love,**

 **DJ Vivian**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the rights or characters of Harry Potter, The Little Mermaid, Frozen, or Rise of The Guardians.**

Snape wheeled over what had been discussed at both meetings of the Order and of Voldemort's gatherings. Severus Snape was constantly reminded why he despised serving two masters. He had told Dumbledore about how Voldemort and Harry's minds had been linked since the ceremony in the graveyard months before. How Voldemort had planned to use the link as a weapon to destroy Potter. Now the boy had to be watched even more closely now. A knock on the door jolted him out his thoughts. He sighed expecting it to be Dumbledore yet again.

"Come in." The man called out frustration in his voice. He hated the late night visits, the unexpected visitors. He liked the fact that once he left the classroom he could be alone with his thoughts but the visitors were becoming more and more annoyingly frequent with time.

Argus Filch, the school caretaker scurried in with a look of great concern and almost scared, "Sorry to bother you, Professor but I found two injured students out by the lake," He reported to the head of Slytherin house. He wrung his hands nervously as the man surveyed him slowly.

Something didn't feel right to Severus but he needed more information first. Who knew, this could have been a Death Eater attack. "Two injured students?" Snape intently questioning the care taker as he stood up from his desk. "Who are they? And why are you here instead of going to Poppy or the headmaster about this?" He demanded, grabbing his wand.

Argus became increasing nervous and a bit perturbed with the accusations. "I did and Dumbledore advised that I come to you for your assistance as well." He said, Severus shook his head mildly disgusted with Albus' choice of action. _Just like the old man to say something like this._ Severus thought annoyedly to himself. "I don't know who they are, just a boy and girl. I thought the girl could be Weasley and the boy could be Longbottom. I don't know who the girl is I thought it could be Weasley. Poppy advised me to come here for your assistant." He said.

"Weasley? Longbottom?" Snape walked out of the door with Filch close behind him before moving in front to lead the way. Luckily, Severus knew proper healing methods his grandmother had done it for decades. It also depended on the depths of the injury, itself. "Are they conscious?" He bellowed, nearly running down the hall. It could have been too late.

"Barely when I left them by the lake's shore," Argus said, limping at top speed down the dungeons, into the majestic entrance hall, and out to the grounds. Severus immediately lit his wand upon entering the biting cold September night. He could see bright almost flaming red hair standing out in the darkness. Next to the barely visible body, lay a young sandy-haired boy also sprawled out on the ground.

As Snape saw the children, he couldn't help but run down the hill towards the water. "Weasley! Longbottom? Weasley?" Snape quickly noticed as he leaned over the girl first that her red hair a few tints redder than Ginny's, her hair was wavy, and she was paler. From the looks of it, neither one barely had any clothes on, "Filch, this isn't Weasley." He said, examining her for any known injuries before over to the boy. From what the Potions Master could gather, the boy had to been a first year or a bit young. "This boy is too young to be a Longbottom." He announced to the older man behind him but mostly to himself.

"Then who could it be?" The older man said uncomfortably as Severus inspected them closely once more to be sure. Could they have somehow journeyed there to get away from danger or worse brought there?

"I don't know, but are they even students?" Snape said, shaking her lightly. Neither child responded, which, began to unnerve the professor to some extent. "Ma'am." He whispered, checking her arms and legs for injuries. She appeared to be the same age as Ginny Weasley. "Boy?" He said, trying again to revive them. It was looking rather grim. Could have some…he stopped himself before returning to the thought of Lord Voldemort's return. The man used his robe to cover the girl up and conjured a blanket for the boy. Not wanting to expose the two of them anymore than they already were. He looked up to see Madam Pomfrey quickly making her way over to them. Albus Dumbledore was right behind her with a grave expression on his face.

Albus surveyed the tragic scene before turning to the professor. "What seems to be the problem, Severus?" He looked from Severus to the children with a fair amount of sadness in his eyes. The Matron immediately took over tending to the unknown children.

"Filch found these children but from what I can tell, neither one is injured. They...they aren't Hogwarts students and it's worrisome as to how they got here." Snape answered believing that he covered all of his bases. While waiting for a reply, Severus watched Madam Pomfrey conjure two stretchers next to each body. Filch helped her lift each child onto the stretchers.

"Poppy, get these two back into the school, I will work on finding some way to identify them," Albus told the matron before staring out across the lake, while stroking his beard in thought. "Very interesting, indeed..." Severus could see the wheels turning in the Headmaster's head, which, for Severus was never a good thing.

"What are you going to do?" Severus asked knowing that Albus would have some scheme in the works. He always did but Severus never agreed to it. The Headmaster finally looked up at him. The look of compilation was in his eyes. The one thing that he despised most about the man. He half knew what was coming...a new 'assignment' for him.

"Well, the only thing that we can do keep a steady watch on the two of them for now. To see what comes of this," Dumbledore said solemnly. _As usual two more insufferable children to baby-sit,_ Severus thought to himself in irritation. Nonetheless, he would obey the given request.

"Yes, Sir," Snape answered in obedience, "Do you think that they could be dark? Maybe brought here by Death Eaters?" He added grimly. Albus' eyes glanced over the lake as he went back into his musings for a few moments, dragging out the silence.

He finally spoke again, this time slightly amused. "It's hard to tell right now but I do find it rather interesting that the girl bares a striking resemblance to Lily, does she not?" The elder man questioned him, now peering at him over his spectacles.

Snape felt a sting at the sound of Lily's name as he thought about it. "She does." Is all he can manage to whisper, barely audible, as he stared out at the lake. The same spot they had sat at for seven years discussing everything, the last of their discussions before her death being most secretive. "This is the spot we'd come to too." He whispered as guilt rose again inside of him. He still remembered what had happened fourteen years ago.

Dumbledore paused, noticing Severus's reaction, "Interesting...And the boy could very well be a Malfoy for all that we know." He continued on still stroking his beard, his own theories were being put together of what this all meant. "Like I said, we will need to keep a close eye on both children."

As usual, the feeling that the man knew more about the children than he was letting on grew. "It is an interesting occurrence," Snape said, keeping all emotion to a minimal. "I'll watch them. Do you think they are after Potter?" This question had been nagging him since he saw the children. Highly unlikely but they knew nothing about them.

"It is too soon to tell what will come from this, Severus. I do sense that they are magical…" He said analyzing the situation and wondering what was going through Severus mind. The girl, he felt could be extremely powerful. That alone could lead to bigger dangers.

"They are?" Snape asked, curiosity getting the best of him. Dumbledore nodded to confirm what he had said. The boy seemed to be like any other wizarding child.

"Yes, but how powerful I do not know," The Headmaster said soberly, "it will prove most interesting to see what comes from this," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes. He turned to go back to the school to find out what he could about the children.

Severus followed behind him, not at all thrilled by his new task. "Yes, most interesting indeed." Snape answered snarling his nose. The thought of the potential dangers wasn't as entertaining to him as it was to Dumbledore, it was more dangerous.

"I want a progress report on them in the morning," Dumbledore said, facing him now serious again when they reached the oak doors. "Come get me when they wake." He turned to walk back to the school. Severus thoroughly annoyed, nodded once more.

Severus sighed with frustration on his face. "Another late night then." He grumbled, walking towards the castle. Dumbledore merely lightly chuckled at his remark.

"Good night, Severus," The man said walking back to the castle.

"Good night Headmaster." He answered. He knew he wasn't going to get any sleep, watching the young girl but he may as well get started

The girl's eyes fluttered opened as she looked around at where she was now. It was an odd sort of place. The pictures moved along their frames and nothing was immersed in water. She must have been on the land but how did she get there and where was she? Something white covered her front as she tried to remember anything before waking up in this strange place. Her heart thundered inside of her chest when the memory of speaking to Ursula about becoming human came to her mind. The deal that she made with the Sea Witch must have come to pass. Did this mean that...the spell had worked? Was she now human? She timidly lifted the covers that were over her. She expected to see her fin but saw what she had wanted. Legs. The spell had worked. She lifted one leg up in her excitement and moved her foot. A voice from nearby caused her to look up.

"Ariel?" Flounder's voice said in concerned curiosity from the young woman's left. Ariel looked over to see a small light haired boy laying in the bed next to her. "Ariel, are you alright?" He asked again causing her eyes to widen in complete horror. How was Flounder even in human form? Not thinking, she tried to walk over to him but ended up collapsing onto the ground beside her bed. Ariel eager to get to her best friend, tried again and fell back onto the floor. Why was she having so much trouble walking? Humans walked all the time without any issues...Footsteps rushed to her side, the human Flounder knelt beside her even more worried about her. "Are you okay?"

Ariel nodded while trying to figure out how Flounder was now human as well. It was almost disturbing for her to see him without his yellow scales and blue stripes. He spoke again catching onto her unsaid words. "I guess we're both humans now..." Ariel was still at a lost with his change. He read her expression and looked away in slight shame for some reason.

"Oh yeah...me...so...I might have...Please don't be mad...I kind of went back after Ursula made you human and..." He ran a nervous hand through his hair before continuing at rapid speed. "After Sebastian and I got you to the surface, I decided to go back to Ursula because I didn't want you to be alone. Sebastian said not to. It was a bad idea, that he was going to tell your dad what had happened. Then have him fix it, I went back to Ursula and she was all like, welcome back, my dear. I told her that I wanted to be human to so you wouldn't be alone." He said, doing a mock impression of the Sea Witch. "She made me human like you." He concluded out of breath. "But I'm only human while you are...Then..." Before he could finish, an older woman walked into the room.

"Oh my! What happened?" She said, rushing over to the two apparently concerned for their well being. "Careful, Dearie." She said, warmly helping the young woman back into the bed. Ariel couldn't help feeling weary but yet comforted by the woman. "Don't worry, you are in good hands." The woman said, both children stared at her oddly shaped hat. It almost resembled the dorsal fin of an angelfish. She tenderly guided a timid Flounder back to his bed. She returned to the tray of bottles that sat at the foot of Ariel's bed. "You were both found by the lake a few days ago. It looked quite grim." She added clicking her tongue and shook her head.

Ariel simply looked at the woman, then at her best friend unable to say anything. A few days ago? They had been sleeping like this for a few days? The woman continued to be preparing the bottles as she spoke again, "Poor things..." The woman said, obviously feeling sympathy for them. The woman handed Ariel a bottle of whitish liquid expectantly. The young woman looked at the bottle, unsure of what was in it. Maybe this was a trick from Ursula, but how was Ariel to know who was or wasn't on Ursula's side. Softly, she shook her head.

Sensing her fears, the older woman encouraged Ariel in a soft tender tone. "You must take it, Dear. It will help you," The woman said with firm kindness. In not wanting to upset the seemingly kind woman, the redheaded girl took the offered bottle and cautiously put the bottle up to her lips. Fearfully waiting for the woman to turn into Ursula. Nothing yet happened. "It won't hurt you my dear. Can you tell me who you are and what happened?" She said worried by the girl's behavior. Ariel opened her mouth to speak but soon remembered that she gave her voice to Ursula as part of their deal. She pointed to her throat and making wild hand gestures in efforts to explain everything.

"Her name is Ariel..." Flounder interjected quietly, causing both women to look at him. "We were...we got lost..." He said, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation. They couldn't just say that they used to be a fish and a mermaid. "She can't talk." He added glumly looking at his lap. This made the elderly woman looked between them even more perplexed. Unexpectedly, the woman aimed something small and slender at Ariel. "What are you doing?" Flounder said, half protective and immensely concerned.

"Just an anti-silencing charm, so that Ariel can speak again." She reassured the young boy, understanding his protectiveness. "I won't hurt her." She promised then muttered a strange word. She placed the object back into her robes. "Now give it another go." She said, still very concerned. The young woman tried to speak again but couldn't. The woman studied her even more for a bit, causing Ariel to feel as though she was being scanned. "Interesting, must be extreme dark magic." The woman muttered to herself. What did she mean by extreme dark magic? Did she know about Ursula's spell? Was she a witch too?

Ariel's thoughts were interrupted by the door of the room opening. Both children turned to see at three more unknown people had entered. All three wore black robes with a red strip on the neck and sleeves. They were two boys and a girl, the girl having frizzy, out of control brown hair almost like she had been playing with electric eels, and a serious face. The taller of the two boys had red hair, freckles and looked as if he were the trickster out of the three. Now, he glanced at the two suspiciously as Flounder hid under his blankets. The other boy walked a half-step in front of them, his hair jet black, his eyes a bright green hidden behind his oversized glasses. Ariel studied the young man for a moment she had met him before then it hit her. It was him, the boy from so long ago. Her heart fluttered, he was why she wanted to be there, to be human. More than anything she wanted to tell him everything but she couldn't. Even with her voice she couldn't, not yet though…

"What's wrong Madam Pomfrey?" The girl with the bushy hair asked with a look of concern on her face as she looked at Ariel and the lump under the covers in the next bed over, which, was Flounder.

"Oh good you are here," The Matron said, guiding them over to Ariel's bed more concerned, "We found these poor children out by the lake, a few days ago. I tried to see if she could tell me who she is. Luckily, the young boy here said that her name is Ariel but she can't speak. I was hoping you knew her. Maybe a relative of your's, Mr. Weasley?" She questioned the first young man curiously.

The red-head looked at Ariel trying to place her. "I don't recognize her and I don't remember any Ariel." He said solemnly. "That don't mean she isn't family. Mum could place her easier than I could but that's just because Dad did have so many siblings," he answered, looking at the Healer.

"Like I mentioned before she can't speak even after removing any kind of silencing charm..." The woman said with a hint of sadness. Charm? So they were magical too but Ariel was sure that humans weren't able to do spells or charms. If these people were then what were they? "But, it seems like she naturally can't talk."

"So, no one knows where they are from?" The brown haired girl asked, concerned as the dark haired boy Ariel recognized shared the growing concern that spread amongst them. This somehow prompted Flounder to speak again but half hiding.

"We're from..." He stopped suddenly, knowing that he couldn't tell them where they were from. The brown haired girl walked towards him slowly as to not frighten him anymore than he seemed to be. She gave him a warm friendly smile when she sat down in the chair next to the bed in hopes of finding out more information. The girl did appear to what to help them.

"From where? How did you get to Hogwarts?" The girl asked softly and genuinely but the young boy returned to the safety under the blanket. "I didn't mean to startle you...We won't hurt you, we're friends." She continued reassuringly, knowing that little could come out of this. "My name is Hermione." She introduced herself hoping to be helpful. "That is Harry," She said gesturing to the raven haired boy in being polite, he gave a simple nod. "And this is Ron." She pointed to the redheaded young man, who also nodded and grunted softly. "Are you in trouble? Is that why you can't tell us where you are from?" Ariel nodded her head while avoiding their eyes, she wished she could tell Harry about the coast when they were younger.

"If you tell us maybe we can help you." Harry finally said, watching the two carefully also trying to remain nonthreatening. Who knew what they went through prior to this. Ariel shook her head violently, afraid of what they would say if they knew what she and Flounder really were. She couldn't tell them she was a mermaid. They wouldn't understand.

"I have an idea." Hermione said her eyes lit up as she dug through her bag. She pulled out a piece of parchment paper and quill. "Can you write it down?" She said, handing the girl both items. Ariel studied the quill for a moment before sliding the quill back protesting the truth. Hermione pushed the quill back towards her again. "We are trying to help you." Hermione said, trying to sound encouraging. "It's okay, we are safe." It didn't matter how much they tried to convince her...She couldn't tell them.

"Maybe she can't because they were held captive somewhere," Harry said, it made sense to him of why they were refusing to tell. At the same time, he couldn't help but be curious about what had happened to them. Hermione looked from Ron to Harry more troubled then before. What more could they ask her if she wasn't going to tell them.

"Can you tell us your name?" Hermione said, to Flounder who was still under the blankets. His green eyes peered over the sheets, how was he supposed to tell them that his name belonged to a fish. "We won't tell anyone." She assured him kindly. He glanced at Ariel questioning her in what to do.

Ariel quietly picked up the quill and wrote something on the paper. _His name is Felix._ She read the name before in a human book somewhere. She smiled at the young boy as to say it was alright. He slowly lowered the linen from his face but was hesitant. Hermione read the paper and matched Ariel's smile.

"Felix, well, it's nice to meet you." Hermione said truly glad to finally know who the boy was. He shyly glanced up at them all unsure what to say next. "Are you two related?" She inquired of the two, again now Felix looked at Ariel again for reassurance. The red-haired girl shook her head and wrote down, _Best friends._ Felix nodded to confirm her words. Two out of the three seemed to relax considerably at hearing that they were harmless.

"Thank you for helping us know who they are," Madam Pomfrey said with relief, "now to figure out, if they had any relatives to contact." That was something else that Ariel couldn't tell them but felt compelled to hint at it.

 _We lost our families._ Ariel wrote finally with sadness. She had to do what she did. Her father just didn't understand, but she felt bad for what she got Flounder into. Hermione met her eyes again as she read what Ariel had written.

"It's okay. Harry lost his too and we are very sorry," Hermione said sympathetically. Ariel tried her best to hide the pain in her eyes. The small boy looked away in the same pain, Ariel noticed Harry trying to hide his discomfort about the whole thing.

"Oh my…" Madam Pomfrey said with a sad gasp. "In that case I need to tell the Headmaster of this then." She said briskly before she went back into back part of the hospital wing. Suddenly the doors opened again, a tall man with dark eyes walked into the room. From what Ariel could tell he was not at all pleased with being there. His black robes billowed out around him. His dark eyes glanced the four teens over and young boy. Ariel's eyes widened as she looked upon the man who could do with a gift of shampoo for Yule.

They remained silent as though that might have been the wisest option...he looked as though his tongue was sharp. "Why aren't the three of you in class?" He said in a deep annoyed drawling voice.

After a few moments of silence, Hermione answered him while he studied them. "Madam Pomfrey asked us to come down to see if we knew Ariel, Professor Snape," She said, gesturing to the redheaded girl. He huffed in annoyance, making his way where the Matron had gone to confirm the information.

Madam Pomfrey returned to the room, "Severus, yes, I thought that they may have known her somehow since we didn't," Madam Pomfrey said. He glowered at the three again. "I just notified Albus that they are orphans and need a place to stay." She added concluding everything.

He scanned them again suspiciously. "I see since they are not needed any longer. They should be back in class," He said coldly. "Now." He snapped at them.

They all muttered, "Yes, Sir," as they started to the door. Ariel felt alone once more and wasn't sure of what to think of the professor.

Harry looked back at her for an instant before shutting the door. Half of him, didn't want to leave her alone with the slimy git. Then the other half thought that there was something eerily familiar about her and he couldn't figure it out how. "What is it, Harry?" Ron asked curiously as he watched his best friend, who was currently lost in thought, trying to figure things out.

"I...the girl, she looked familiar, mate. But I couldn't place, how I knew her. Just that it was from somewhere and I trust her," Harry answered and looked at Ron confused. It was nagging at him.

"You have met her before?" Ron asked shocked by his confession. "Why did you say so when we were in there? What about Felix?" He said, it made sense that if he met Ariel, then he must have met the young boy too.

"No, just Ariel...I'm not sure," Harry replied nervously. "But she looks really familiar. Like I said, I don't know why, but I trust them. We should get to know the both of them better." Harry added thinking about the situation. Mulling over, the possible ways that they could communicate.

"How when she can't talk," Ron bluntly pointed out. He knew that Ron would go on that but they now had a way to communicate with Ariel.

"Use Felix like earlier and by her writing things down for us." Harry said simply. "She is willing to talk." But even he was a bit too shy to open up to anyone, but it was worth a shot.

"Can't Pomfrey make it to where she can talk?" Ron asked curiously.

"I don't know." Harry said, having not thought about that. "But it's worth looking into."

"Magic can't always fix everything," Hermione said firmly. "Besides, Pomfrey said she already tried to but didn't work. One can't always remove dark curses." Hermione had a valid point. Magic could do so much but to a point. They walked down to their Transfigurations class, Harry's mind was still on how and where had he seen Ariel before. He couldn't help but try to place where he had seen her before, the bright red hair and her bright blue eyes electrifying him. As he walked into the classroom, he knew it wasn't going to be an ordinary day.


	2. The Price of The Truth

**Dear Readers,**

 **This story is a dedication story to one of my best friends and fellow mermaid/Ariel lover, Jamie Fraser. She is so inspirational to me and has been so amazing to me so I wanted to do something equally amazing for her.**

 **I do appreciate the patience that you have given me. I was more inspired after watching Frozen and Rise of The Guardians. I decided to make this into a four genre crossover, combining Harry Potter, The Little Mermaid, Frozen, and Rise of The Guardians. I thank all of my wonderful friends for being my inspirations and help during this creative trek. Here it is the next adventure for the Golden Trio, Ariel, Flounder (Felix), Elsa, and a new character!**

 **DJ Vivian**

Since Harry's rather eventful summer, he found himself not being able to focus on much of anything except for the eerie dreams of the corridors he had been having. Every night something new was revealed to him. Something within the dream was beckoning him. He came more curious to what the clues meant and if it had anything to do with Voldemort's return. Upon thinking of Voldemort's return, Harry was reminded of the unnerving visions that he been having of him as the foul creature talking to an assortment of Death Eaters about a plan and of a weapon. He had an inking to what the weapon may have been but nonetheless, he decided to keep that to himself. His friends didn't need the extra burden on them with what else was going on. Not only that but half the school now thought that Harry was either crazy or just an attention seeking liar.

The young man sighed as he made his way to double Defense Against the Dark Arts. He half dreaded what the pink clad woman had in store for the students. He tried to ignore the wary glances that Hermione kept giving him as they walked through the corridors. "What?" Harry said, after the fifth glance. He was tired of people treating him like a ticking time bomb about to explode at any giving moment.

Hermione slightly blushed in embarrassment while choosing her words carefully to answer the young man's inquiry. "Just wondering how you're doing. You said that Umbridge was at your hearing…Not to mention…" Hermione replied, glancing at him again. Harry gestured for her to continue, becoming increasingly irritated with her.

"Not to mention what?" Harry said, trying to keep his anger in check as much as he could. Ron and Hermione exchanged worried glanced before they even opened their mouths again. ""What?" Hermione seemed to be finding the right way to say it. Honestly, it was beginning to annoy the young man.

"Well…Your temper has been getting the best of you lately…." Ron said, as if he was treading on dangerous ground. Even though, Ron was right, Harry couldn't help feeling his blood slightly boiling.

"You would be a bit miffed too if you had the entire wizarding world thinking that you were mental after seeing someone be murdered right in front of you. Then telling you it didn't really happen." Harry said, on the verge of exploding. "You've heard her last evening, she's Fudge's puppet. It means the Minister has us under his radar, it means he doesn't want us to prepare for what's coming simply because he refuses to believe. No one is doing anything about it and I can't sit still, doing nothing about it. What is going to happen is that Voldemort is going to attack and all of us are going to be completely unprepared. Then what?" The entire situation made his stomach churn.

Hermione tried to approach the young man in a softer tone. "We agree with you and no one is saying that you don't have the right to be upset but not everyone thinks that you are lying. The Order doesn't, we don't... Fear is controlling everything that the Ministry is doing. The possibility of Voldemort being back is something they want to keep hidden until they can't anymore. You happen to be the perfect distraction for them to turn to." Hermione said, gently. "It's a poor way to take the heat off the Ministry and to make it seem like they are in control, they placed Umbridge here." Harry knew that Hermione had the most sincere intentions, they weren't helping matters at all.

"Yeah, she is here to be the Ministry's spy." Ron said in agreement. "You aren't the only one that doesn't like her being here." He added in also irritated by the thought.

Even though, Ron was right, Harry couldn't help feeling his blood slightly boiling. "Basically, I have to play nice, right?" Harry said, his temper was on the verge of spilling over his limit. Hermione sensed it coming and quickly tried to advert it.

"Don't you see the Ministry is trying to rile you up? They want any reason to make you out to be the villain. But we know better. Just please, Harry, try and keep your temper in check for now. She probably won't be here for long anyway." " Hermione asked pleadingly. "Any outburst goes back to Fudge." She said, reminding him of McGonagall. "We'll have a new Defense professor next year." Hermione coaxed as they entered the classroom.

Harry followed Hermione and Ron to their seats. Nothing as far as Harry could tell was out of place. Just the usual piles of books scattered through out the room. That didn't mean much though. A few moments later Professor Umbridge walked into the room and stopped in front of the desk. As she faced them, some students had an expression of uncertainty and most continued to talk amongst themselves.

"Good morning, class," Umbridge said in a cheery tone. Everyone except for a few stopped talking and looked up at her. Her demeanor changed quickly while glancing across the room. "My my this will simply not do. I see that Dumbledore hasn't upheld proper manners when it comes to how one treats a Professor." Ron glanced at Harry with a shrug. "From now. on when I greet you I expect you to say good morning Professor Umbridge. Now shall we try it again? Good morning, class."

"Good morning, Professor Umbridge," The class droned in unison. Umbridge giggled in satisfaction. "That wasn't too difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out, please." The class exchanged looks of gloom but yet confusion upon hearing that wands were not needed in class. Harry shoved his wand back into his bag and pulled out the requested items.

"Excuse me, Professor?" Hermione spoke up suddenly. This was a rare occurrence for the girl to speak out like this to a teacher. Ron shook his head in efforts to get Hermione not to continue, "If we are here to learn about Defense Against The Dark Arts then aren't wands needed?" She asked frankly. Harry could hear a few murmurs of agreement from other students.

The professor turned around and smiled sweetly at Hermione before folding her hands neatly in front of her. "What's your name, my dear?" Umbridge asked in a very annoyingly sweet voice. Ron stared at Hermione as he was seeing her in a whole new light.

Hermione squared her shoulders to show that she wasn't the least bit intimidated by the woman. "Hermione Granger," Hermione said but Harry caught on to how she had mimicked the professor in tone. Umbridge seemed not even phased by it and went on with her explanation.

"You see Miss Granger, the Ministry feels that past professors who have taught this subject have had a rather brutal approach to the subject," She said slowly as though they were incapable of understanding what she was saying. "By doing so has put you all far behind in where you need to be before taking your O. W. L's this year. Therefore I have been asked by the Minister himself to come and teach you how this subject should be taught."

Harry was on the verge of standing. "Approached the subject in a brutal manner?" Harry said with a cool tone, "I think that is the right approach when you are face to face with Voldemort and the Death Eaters." Half the class either stared at him in horror or gasped after hearing Voldemort's name.

"I don't think I need to remind you of the proper protocol on how to address a Professor, Mr Potter. Now raise your hand next time," Umbridge said holding the sour sweetness in her voice. She was beginning to get on his nerves more by the second. Who was she to tell them how to protect themselves. "Besides who would want to attack children when Hogwarts is the safest place for you?"

"Oh geez, I don't know...perhaps Voldemort would," Harry retorted sarcastically. "Voldemort doesn't care about protection charms or enchantments. He can get into the school and has more then once," Harry said feeling his blood starting to boil. "He tried using a professor to gain access to the Sorcerer's Stone, he possessed Ginny Weasley through his old diary and almost killed her. Why? To get to me and to find a way back to full power. Not to mention, that he found a way last year and murdered Cedric Diggory. So to protect yourself, you need to be brutal. Voldemort is, Death Eaters are." This surprised Hermione and Ron considering Harry never mentioned what had occurred the night of Cedric's death.

"Oh, so this is what everything is about. I can assure you that that certain Dark Wizard has not returned by any means," Umbridge said as though Harry was being a disobedient child. "And I know you feel that you must lie to keep your fame going, Mr. Potter." A disguised wicked smile appeared across her face.

Harry was suddenly on his feet fully outraged. "I could careless about my so called fame! Why would I lie about something like that?" Harry said trying his best to keep his voice level. "He is back I saw him! I fought him! I barely made it out alive that night! Yeah, having nightmares of watching Cedric die every night is something I would lie about. The only one lying here is the Ministry." He knew he crossed the line but at this point the didn't care. He knew the truth and what happened in the graveyard. Umbridge shook her head and clicked her tongue.

"This is why the Ministry had given me a carefully structured, theory-centered Ministry-approved course of defensive magic to teach you," Umbridge said showing her pointed small teeth by smiling. "Now if you are done, Mr. Potter, let's go back to the lesson at hand." Harry didn't budge, why should he have to back down to her or anyone for that matter.

"No, I am not done," Harry said as his temper was passed the point of being controlled. "It's sad that the Ministry is leaving everyone defenseless when they know full well that Voldemort is back. Because of that more people will die." Students looked between the two anticipating what would happen next. "Of course, it won't matter to them."

"Ten points from Gryffindor for you being so disrespectful and disrupting the learning process of fellow students," Umbridge said in a way that sent the message that was final. Harry laughed hollowly, ready for the next punch that the woman would throw at him. He honestly was passed the point of caring what happened to him.

"Disrupting the learning process of what!? Of the Ministry trying to keep us in their happy little bubble?" Harry almost yelled at her. His breathing was now hard from the mounting anger that threatened to explode. "In their disillusion that everything is all good and there is nothing wrong. I refuse to do so."

"Enough! Detention Mr. Potter," Umbridge said triumphantly. "Tomorrow at five o'clock my office. Now like I said before, the Ministry of Magic guarantees that you are not in any danger from any Dark Wizard. Others will tell you that these lies about a certain Dark Wizard's return are true. I encourage you to not listen to these people and come see me outside of class. I would like to hear who told you such things." Her eyes lingered on Harry as she said this. "Shall we get back to the lesson?"

Harry remained standing by now he saw red he was so infuriated by this woman. This was not over quite yet. "Harry don't…" Hermione whispered in a warning voice while tugging at his sleeve. Harry just jerked his arm away from her.

"Dumbledore wouldn't allow this to happen in his school," Harry said now shaking with fury, "He knows the truth like I do and he will fight you." A collective intake of breath was heard out through the classroom. Eyes stared avidly between Harry and Umbridge.

"The Ministry feels that Dumbledore is starting to forget why this school was built," She said coldly. Harry was shaking even more with his hands balled into fists.

"Then the Ministry has just signed everyone's death warrant," Harry growled in fury. The toad-ish woman stared at him for a some before receiving a pink piece of parchment and her quill.

"Pity, I see that detention is not enough for you, Mr. Potter," She said in a mock pitying tone. "Please come here, dear," She said in her sweetest voice. Harry strode up to her deck. He didn't care what she did to him. She blocked what she was writing from Harry's view. She magically sealed it closed and smiled up at him, "Now take this to Professor McGonagall please," She said sweetly. Harry gritted his teeth. She got on every nerve of his.

"Fine," He said before storming towards the door in irritation. He ignored the looks from Hermione and Ron. He slammed the door behind him. His anger festered the entire way to McGonagall's office. Harry left McGonagall's office feeling worse then what he did when he had gone in. Umbridge had apparently said in the sealed note that Harry had yelled at her and called her a liar. Which landed him with five days worth of detentions with the insufferable woman. Though, he was in the right, McGonagall told him that he had to go. She couldn't suceced it. She did warn him about being careful of what he said around Umbridge. No matter how angry she made him. The Ministry had been cracking down on Dumbledore for what had happened.

Personally, Harry didn't care what the Ministry or Umbridge thought. Nonetheless he promised McGonagall he would be careful. He was glad that Defense Against The Dark Arts happened to be the last class of the day. His head was starting to throb slightly and was getting worse. Hermione and Ron greeted him with timid concern as he walked through the portrait hole. "How did it go? What did McGonagall say?" Ron asked, watching Harry sit in one of the nearby armchairs.

"Swimmingly," Harry said dryly and rubbing his temples. He didn't want to relive what was said again, "I got five nights of detention with Umbridge," he said the irritation returning at the thought. "Said I yelled at her and called her a liar." Ron looked at him in disbelief.

The young woman peered over the book that she was reading. "You did but nonetheless you were telling the truth," Hermione said suddenly but in a serious tone.

Ron gaped at Harry in open-mouthed shock. "She gave you detention for that!?" Ron exclaimed in shock, "McGonagall is allowing it?" He knew that Ron was now plotting a way for Harry to get out of detention and to get back at Umbridge.

Harry shook his head. "There's nothing she can do. If a teacher feels that a student deserves detention then that is their right," Harry said with a sigh. Both of his friends had gone silence he didn't really care much. In fact, he wanted to just sit there alone in his own silence.

"I still think that Umbridge is completely mental," Ron said breaking the growing silence. Harry had thought the same since the day of the trial.

"So what do we do now? Honestly, what is there that we can do?" Harry said coolly, "I have to be a good boy and not upset the poor professor. She may tattle on me to Fudge," He added in dark sarcasm. He didn't intend for it to come out in that manner but he couldn't help feeling so angry.

"I think we should go back to see the Ariel girl and Felix," Hermione spoke again but confusing the boys in the process. Why was she keen on seeing two students that were found out on the lake? Not to mention, that they didn't have nothing to do with either of them.

"Why would you want to go see them for?" Ron asked the question that was going through Harry's mind. "We were just called down there to see if we knew them." Ron said, obviously not wanting to deal with the strange visitors anymore than he had to.

"I have a feeling that Umbridge and the Ministry had something to do with happened to them. If we can get to know them, maybe we ca find out where they came from and why they are here," Hermione said firmly throwing Ron a very meaningful look. Ron rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Besides Harry did say that he knew Ariel from before," She mentioned in a matter of fact tone.

"I don't trust them at all, I mean they just appeared out of nowhere. Don't you find that a little odd, Hermione," Ron pointed out to the girl. It did make sense to Harry though a lot. They were just mysteriously found by the lake and couldn't talk? It sounded very sketchy to Harry. "Maybe they are here as spies."

"That is why we should go down there and talk to them," Hermione insisted again and more directly. Ron looked at Harry in despair knowing that nothing they said would stop her from dragging them down there.

"Fine, we'll go," Harry said hiding the defeat in his voice. He rather have gone out to the Quidditch Pitch and tried to forget about the day. Ron muttered something about how Hermione had gone off the deep end when they exited the portrait entrance. Harry didn't know the reasoning behind Hermione's plan but in the back of his mind he trusted her. Like always. What secrets did the mysterious redhead hold and why was she there. Harry followed hoping they would find out something…if anything.

Ariel was still very unsure of where she and Felix were, plus everything that came with it. The Pomfrey woman came in the room to check up on them from time to time. She used a stick to do something to the both of them. Humans were interesting but confusing creatures to her. Her eyes wandered across the framed picture which, people moved around in.

There were things that Scuttle, her seagull friend had told her about that humans used much differently then how he told her. Sebastian always said that he was useless. Felix on the other hand, was getting used to his new name and human customs. Though, it was coming to him rather quickly. The dark haired man called Snape spoke to the Pomfrey woman about what she knew about them. Even suggesting that they put them somewhere else since they didn't know anything about who the two children were. The Snape man called them a strange word that they had never heard before, 'muggle.' He said that it could be dangerous for the children to be there because of a law that was placed. He then said, that it would be ultimately up to the Headmaster of the school. That made Ariel wonder, if what she did, didn't lead herself and Felix to a more dangerous place instead. She thought back to her father's warnings about the human world and the potential harm that went with it. She quickly reminded herself as to why she had wanted to be there. What had inspired her to become human in the first place.

Felix was now sitting at the foot of her bed examining his hands in amazement. "Being human is definitely weird..." The young boy said, looking at a piece of his sandy blonde hair. His train of thought suddenly changed. Do you really think he is the one?" Felix asked, still uncertain to the situation at hand, also the one thing that he had yet to tell Ariel about his own transformation. "I mean it could be anyone and he doesn't even remember what happened in the ocean." He said, being logical. "His friends don't trust us..." He added, soon realizing that Hermione seemed to trust them. He was beginning to have a sibling type bond with the girl.

 _Hermione trusts us and I'm sure that Harry is the one._ Ariel wrote on the paper with true conviction, the scar on his forehead was something that stood out to her the most since that day. Plus, how the two carried a special connection that the young woman couldn't explain. _We have time to figure this out._ She added in efforts to ease her best friend's fears. He did have a point, what if she had been wrong?

"But what if they ask again about where we are from?" Felix said, still very troubled of their new friends discovering the truth to their identities. "We can't hide that from forever. Ursula could find us and stop the kiss." He said, his worry increasing growing. Ariel subconsciously thought of the very same time and time again but kept that to herself.

 _She won't be able to find us from what Hermione said, this place is heavily charmed with some kind of protective enchantments._ She tried so hard to sound comforting for both of their sakes. _We are safe._ She ended with a smile on her face and stroked his cheek softly. But would it be able to wart the Sea Witch off completely? _Don't be such a guppy._ She wrote, silently laughing and kissing his forehead.

"I'm not a guppy..." The young boy said, folding his arms across his chest while pouting at the same time. Moments later, the door opened causing Felix to immediately hide under the bed. Ariel shook her head and rolled her eyes at his behavior. She looked up to see that Hermione, Ron, and Harry had returned.

Hermione looked particularly excited about something. "Hello Ariel," she said warmly to the girl. "Oh my...Felix, what are you doing under the bed?" She asked out of concern when his head poked out curiously from under the blankets.

He stood to his feet, his face was crimson red in embarrassment. Hermione brushed the dirt off him. "Just a bit scared...thought you were someone else." He said, as Hermione hugged him close to her, assuming that he meant Professor Snape. Ron quietly huffed annoyed by Hermione's actions. Felix didn't know how to respond, he was used to Ariel being like this. He didn't have any idea of what the human customs involving this kind of behavior but it was making him feel somewhat better.

"I can understand how being so far from home can be quite scary," Hermione said, soothingly to the young boy and running her fingers through his bangs. "But hopefully, we can be friends?" Felix hugged her back hoping that was the appropriate way to show his gratitude towards her sincere words ignoring Ron huffing again, obviously sickened by the display.

"I hope that we can too," Felix's eyes lit up, feeling the same way, he did when he first met Ariel. He sat back down on the bed after his nerves calmed some more. Hermione turned slightly serious before addressing the two again, which, made Ariel curious as to why they were there.

"I do apologize for intruding but we wanted to see how you were both doing?" Hermione said, kindly and politely, she wanted to carefully watch her words to not give the wrong impression that they were there just to grill them. Ariel saw the true genuineness in her.

"We're good but now waiting to see if we'll be allowed to stay or not," Felix said, looking down in honest uncertainty of their undetermined fate. Hermione again wrapped an arm around Felix in the tone of Mrs. Weasley. "Hope that the Headmaster lets us stay." He said, holding very little faith. His emotions reminded Harry of how he felt after he and Ron accidentally flew Mr. Weasley's Ford Angelia into the Whomping Willow. Not to mention, his most recent trial, when he came close to being expelled from the school for trying to save he and his cousin, Dudley from the Dementors.

"Where are your families?" Hermione questioned them more concerned about their well being. "Maybe they have been found close by." She said, knowing that the possibility was slim but worth trying to search for them. Both friends looked down in remorse, signaling that they were truly alone. Hermione gasped and covered her mouth in empathetic feelings. She knew that asked about what happened was not a good idea.

"Then how were you separated?" Harry asked, copying Hermione's soft tone and raw in emotion of his own regarding losing his family. "How did you get to Hogwarts?" He stopped himself realizing that he sounded like he was interrogating them. Ariel knew that the truth needed to be said, she felt that it was too early. Then again, what was she going to say, a shipwreck was not plausible. The young woman felt their questioning eyes on her.

"See, I told you that they weren't going to tell us anything," Ron suddenly broke his silence in a harsh tone, he wasn't so keen on being there at all. "They are probably spies for Voldemort. Just like Umbridge is." He snarled, only getting a slap on the head from Hermione as a response.

"Ronald, stop it! I doubt that they even know who Voldemort is, let alone working for him," Hermione said, placing her hands on her hips and her eyes narrowing at him, coldly. "We aren't here to alienate them and treat them as if they are suspected criminals!" Ron merely stared at her in contempt. Hermione turned back to the two. "I'm so sorry about that, you don't have to if you don't want to." Hermione said, understandingly as Ron continued to seethe in anger of Hermione's betrayal.

Both Ariel and Felix felt relieved by Hermione's sympathetic sentiments but they knew something had to be said. "We ran away..." Felix began barely meeting anyone's eyes while he spoke nervously. Ron smirked slightly knowing that he had been proven correct about his theories.

"Why did you run away?" Harry said, curious to what their reasoning behind leaving home. Ariel adverted her eyes, even more guilt overwhelmed her over what she had done. Felix ran a hand through his hair in trying to come up with something to say. The young woman swallowed hard as she grabbed the quill to respond.

 _My father didn't understand..._ She wrote down sadly while her stomach turned into multiple knots. _So I left..._ Hermione's eyes saddened a bit under the assumption that Ariel's father didn't like the fact that she was a witch. That meant that her family must have been Muggles.

"I went with her..." Felix said, softly making Ariel's turmoil intensify faster. She wished that he would have stay behind but nothing could have been undone now. Hermione sat between the two, holding Felix in a sisterly manner. Ron threw up his hands in betrayal of how Hermione was so okay with all of this. They were obviously a part of Voldemort's crowd.

"I'm sure that it was a misunderstanding and he'll just be relieved that you are alright." Hermione comforted the redheaded girl, not knowing the intent of Ariel's actions. Ariel shook her head, grimly. It was impossible for her to go back home now, especially after going to Ursula.

 _I can't go back..._ She scribbled onto the page as Felix hugged her, creating a lump in her throat at the mere thought of it. Hermione shared a grave expression between herself and Harry upon hearing the disturbing news. Tears slid down Ariel's cheeks, they finally got what she meant by losing her family.

"You don't have to continue..." Hermione said, handing the girl a tissue. Her heart broke for the two, so did Harry's. Ron remained stone cold and distant. Who would what someone evil in their family. "You are with friends now." Hermione reassured them. Both appreciated the kindness.

"That's it?" Ron said, irritated and in disbelief of Hermione and Harry's support. "You aren't going to ask why she can't go back? Or why they left? You are just going to act like they are victims? They could have murdered everyone before they came here!" His voice started to rise in frustration, how could they not see what was staring them in the face.

"Obviously, they regret what they have done," Hermione said, standing up also becoming annoyed at his disregard for someone else's emotions. "All we were going to do is ask Ariel if she knew Harry because he said she seemed familiar to him." Ariel looked at Felix in shock of hearing that he could have remembered her.

"Fine, then ask her," Ron said, pointing roughly towards the girl. "Ask her but it will be lies." He said, almost challenging the girl. Hermione's eyes flashed in pure fury.

She growled slightly, willing herself to calm down before going back to Ariel. "Harry said earlier that he felt that you have met one another before this. Do you recognize him?" She asked Ariel as kindly as she could. Harry could tell that she couldn't help but trust the red-headed stranger and her best friend. This was the moment of truth, she couldn't hide from it any longer. The only way to tell how, was to tell them what she was. Felix gave her a supportive glance to do what was right. The young woman nodded in response to the question. Harry looked at Hermione hiding his own anxiousness to what she would reveal to them. "How do you know him? Have you been here before?" Hermione inquired still remaining friendly during her interrogation. Again there was another brief silence. Ron looked ready to drill the girl of what she knew. "You can trust us." Hermione added to encourage the girl more and to help her be comfortable around them.

Felix bit his tongue to allow her to tell the story. _When we were younger at the coast._ Ariel wrote on the parchment. Harry looked at it in confusion because he didn't remember seeing her there but then again, he was only nine. Hermione looked between them in thought.

"Do you remember seeing her at a coast, Harry? When you were younger?" Hermione questioned him, her voice now serious. Harry tried thinking back to that particular trip and what took place. Most of it was a blur because of nearly drowning that day.

He nodded. "Yeah, I went there a couple years before coming here. The only trip that I went on with the Dursleys...a boating trip," He answered, still confused about how the two had met, "But I don't remember seeing Ariel there." Felix nudged Ariel to continue again.

 _I was in the water when I saw him._ Ariel wrote down without being asked. She seemed comfortable enough to open up. _Another boy pushed him off the boat._ She added on, this surprised Harry mostly due to the fact that he never told anyone about that incident. So how did she know about that?

"But what does that have to do with how you know him?" Hermione said trying her best to keep the suspicion out of her voice. Ron was giving Hermione a look that said that he had been right in not trusting her. _It has everything to do with how I know him, I saved him that day._ She wrote back avoiding their eyes. Felix remembered that day, he tried to tell her not to save him but Ariel was too determined. Ron huffed indignantly when he read what she had written.

"Saved him? What do you mean by saved him?" Ron demanded of Ariel, obviously tired with being polite. Hermione glared at him as she pushed him out of the way. Harry had barely remembered, who had pulled him out of the current after being pushed in.

"What happened when you fell off the boat Harry?" Hermione asked Harry again as shock covered his face. Harry tried to wrack his brain to think back to what exactly occurred.

"I was looking into the water from the back deck of the boat. Dudley decided to push me in. So I could 'learn' how to swim. I fell off, nearly-" Harry stopped mid sentence. A flash of vivid bright red hair appeared in his mind's eye. _-Drowned if it weren't for a redheaded girl?_ Ariel timidly finished for him on paper. Harry looked from her to the paper and back in mystified disbelief.

 _There couldn't have been any way she could have pulled me out..._ Harry thought as the memory replayed in his head. "You would have drowned but Ariel saved you, Harry." Hermione replied in the same kind of shock that Harry was in.

Ariel's eyes met Harry's again. Deep down, she was hoping that they wouldn't ask her how she did it. "That...that's impossible." Harry lied not knowing if that were true, "The current was too strong. It would have killed both of us." It seemed as though everything that she was trying to kept to herself was now making itself known a little at a time. The truth was coming out whether if it was under her control or not.

"Then how does she know about it?" Hermione questioned him intently. She was right. Knowing what she had to do, Ariel turned her head and wrote something down on her parchment. After this, she couldn't take it back. She handed Hermione the parchment. _The reason that I was able to save Harry and why I was out by the lake the day I was found. Is because before that I was not exactly human…_ She gulped knowing they would leave now that had the truth. The three read the parchment and looked at the girl in confusion, what did that mean?

"Not exactly human?" Ron repeated quickly becoming more suspicious of the two. "Probably a werewolf or a Veela." He continued his accusatory ranting. They were probably from a pack that served Voldemort. Hermione glared at him before addressing the young woman again. "Felix, what was she? How was she able to save Harry?" He said, going after the young boy, who hid behind Ariel and peered out through her red locks.

"Leave him alone! It doesn't matter," Hermione said, scolding him and pulling the paper away from his sight. "Professor Lupin isn't exactly human but he is on our side." Both Ariel and Felix were thankful towards Hermione's protectiveness towards them. Ron stared at her as if she said something completely offensive.

"Have you forgotten that in wolf form, Lupin could hurt anyone! She could end up killing us all and because we thought that she was good!" Ron pushed on a bit more demandingly. Hermione's lips thinned to where they almost completely disappeared. Harry couldn't help but want to know what Ariel was before being found days ago. Was it something dangerous? If the two told them maybe the three could help them. "She won't tell us why they ran away!"

Hermione's cheeks colored in aggravation. "Just because someone isn't human, doesn't mean that she would hurt us, Ron," Hermione said in the same irritated tone as Mrs. Weasley but that didn't stop Ron. "Besides, Madam Pomfrey would have discovered the truth by now and if she was dangerous, don't you think that she would keep us out of here and Felix too?"

"So, you would be okay, if she mauls us to death," Ron said suspiciously, "Don't you think it's a bit odd that she knows Harry from the coast but wasn't human at the time?" The red-headed young man had a valid point but Harry wasn't to hear it from Ariel before assuming anything.

"They know him from the coast. What is so odd about that?" Hermione said her voice was level but her eyes flashed dangerously. Ariel bit her lip, this was not at all what she wanted or expected to happen because of her.

"She wasn't human when she left home and won't tell us why, I don't trust it..." Ron said folding his arms across his chest. Hermione's eyes narrowed. Harry knew this was the point of no return. He remained quiet he knew better than to get between them during a fight.

"I do, I trust her," Hermione argued back to prove a point. Ron's ears began to turn bright red the more angry he got.

"Why? For all that we know they could be in disguise!" Ron shouted indignantly. Now throwing his arms up.

"In disguise?" Hermione screamed magic crackled around her. "Listen to yourself Ronald!" Hermione looked at Harry for help in trying to win her side. Harry knew that there was nothing that she could say to convince Ron to change his mind about it all. Once it was made up, it stayed that way.

"He is back and who knows what side anyone is on anymore!" Ron said in his defense, "For all that we know they could be Death Eaters or werewolves!"

"And do they really look like Death Eaters? They are as innocent as they come!" Hermione yelled now furious with Ron for acting this way. Her eyes flashed dangerously, her anger rose even higher. "Felix looks like a first year, too young to be a Death Eater!"

"Of course, they look innocent we know nothing about them! Dumbledore probably wants them here so he can make sure they aren't dangerous! They wouldn't be dumb enough to admit the fact they were Death Eaters! Look at Barty Crouch Jr! He had everyone fooled!" Ron retorted heatedly. Ariel looked down at her lap in shame and uncertainty. What was a Death Eater? Or a Werewolf? Why was this Ron boy accusing her and Flounder of being one?

The young boy stood in front of Ariel his courage finally came to a head. "Stop it, okay? Ariel is not a Death Eater or werewolf thing that you keep accusing us of being." Felix snapped, surprising them as he glared at the three in full anger. Ariel pulled him back and shook her head to say that it was okay.

"See he's standing up for her, that must mean something!" Ron said, pointing at the both of them victoriously.

"They aren't evil or werewolves! When will you get that through your impossibly thick skull!" Hermione screamed back and close to tears. Harry had enough of the bickering. It was constant and they weren't going to find out the truth by fighting.

"Can you two stop!" Harry hollered over them causing the both of them to look at him in shock. "Honestly, how are we supposed to find anything out with how you are both carrying on like this?"

"But Harry, you know as well as I do that the whole thing seems a bit weird. No one knows who they are. They just happened to mysteriously show up by the lake and now she says that she wasn't human! Some isn't adding up," Ron said still on edge and throwing Ariel and Felix dark glares.

"For now, all that we can do is take Hermione, Ariel, and Felix's word for it. Until we are able to know everything," Harry began objectively. "I don't understand it either and I don't care what it says. I trust Hermione's word. If it was something like that we would all be dead right now. That must tell you something about them." Harry finished hoping that would be enough for him.

"I do trust Hermione but with everything that happened last year. We can't afford to be so trusting," Ron said soberly. He turned and walked out of the room. Harry sighed but knew that Ron was right to a point. At the same time, they had nothing else to go on. Hermione looked torn between the two boys and struggling with her own opinions. But he was somehow felt drawn to Ariel in a way. He couldn't explain it completely but he trusted her. The redheaded girl sat there lost in her own thoughts. Human life was not at all what she had expected it to be. Ariel looked at his wondering eyes. Deep down, she wanted to but how would he react to it all. Would he run out too?


End file.
